


Haunted House

by WackyWaffle



Series: NorIce Story Collection [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: !Ghost AU, Human names are used, IceNor, Iceland is human, M/M, NorIce, Norway is the ghost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-20 09:41:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16134644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WackyWaffle/pseuds/WackyWaffle
Summary: When Emil moves into a new house in upstate New York, he expected it to be the average good old house. A week before Halloween, Emil decides to play a little Ouija game with his friends in his basement. He never anticipated for there to be an actual ghost-a pretty good-looking one, to be exact.





	1. Ouija Board

     It was freezing outside. Emil quickly turned the keys and clicked open the door, stepping into the living room. It was nearing the end of October, and Emil had just moved to New York and bought a house there. It had been a week since he'd settled into his new home, with most of the furniture unpacked already. Emil liked his new home. There was even a swimming pool in the back, but it wasn't like he would be using that a lot in the winter. He'd also made new friends as well.  And tonight he was going to call them over for some pre-Halloween fun. The previous day, Mathias, one of his closest friends, had asked him to tell his other two friends to go to Emil's house for some good old scary Ouija game fun. Now, Emil was pretty nervous. He wasn't sure what would happen. He turned, and his three friends were right behind him.

     "Surprise, dude! We were waiting near the garage!" Mathias called, and invited himself to make himself comfortable on a plaid couch. His gravity-defying blonde spiked hair flopped around like a fish out of water as he bounced up and down on the couch. Berwald, who was the more quiet of the four, just sat down on a chair and grunted. Tino, the cheerful Finnish boy, pranced around the room giggling like crazy.

     "Well, Emil? I've got the board! Let's go down!" Tino chirped. The four teens walked down the stairs to the basement. Tino placed the board in the middle of the floor as the other three sat down in a circle around it. Emil took a deep breath. Shutting off the lights, he enabled Flashlight on his phone to provide some lighting in the dim room. They all put one hand on the pointer as they closed their eyes.

     "I don't think this is going to work." Emil muttered.

     "Come on, man! This is only for fun anyways!" Mathias argued, rolling his eyes. Just then, a cold breeze seemed to blow through the room. "Hey, Emil, did you forget to close the windows or something? Let's go turn the lights on. I don't have my jacket with me!" The Danish teen said. It was more than a breeze-a complete temperature drop, actually. Emil gulped. He was almost afraid-the stories all said that when a ghost was present, the temperature would become chillier.

     "M-Mr. Ghost? P-Please s-say something o-or c-come out!" Tino's teeth chattered as he shivered from the cool air.

     There was suddenly a small flash of light above the Ouija board, and a shadowy figure in the shape of a boy around the four friends' age appeared, floating in the air. It was shrouded with mist, and nobody could see clearly. Tino and Mathias shrieked and jumped up as Berwald gasped and scooted away. Emil stared and gaped at the silhoutte. "Guys, if this is a joke or hologram of some sort, it's not funny! I never intended to-"

     The mist began to clear a bit, revealing a semi-transparent teenage boy with pearly blond hair and sapphire eyes. One side of his hair was pinned back with a Nordic cross hairpin, and he wore a dark blue navy outfit with black gloves on his hands. Emil's jaw dropped. Was that an actual ghost? If it was... It was actually kind of hot. He looked over at his friends. All of them had an expression of disbelief on their face. "Woah. That was cool." Emil heard Mathias whisper. Tino whimpered and hugged Berwald tightly. Berwald looked like he was choking.

     "H-Hi?" Emil stammered. The ghost turned its head to look at him, but didn't speak. That did it. Mathias wailed and ran up the stairs, slamming the door. Tino fainted, and Berwald gestured at Emil before running after Mathias. Emil couldn't seem to make himself move, yet he was the only one in the room. His mouth felt dry and he leaned against the wall, trying to regain his composure. The ghost tilted its head. Emil could feel himself begin to blush.  _W-What? I mean... It IS pretty attractive..._

     "You and your friends were summoning me?" The ghost inquired suddenly, making Emil shriek in fear suddenly. The ghost just blinked and waited for an answer.  _He seems rather stoic._ Emil thought, and nodded slightly in response to the ghost's question. "Why?" The floating figure seemed almost curious, and didn't seem scared of the human at all.

     "I-I'm sorry. I-It w-was a g-game." Emil stuttered.

     "A game, huh? Who are you? I would've accepted the fact that you moved in, but you didn't have to be a nuisance about it." The ghost muttered.

     "I'm Emil..." Emil said softly.

     "You're going to be here for a while, I see. Probably best if I introduced myself. I'm Lukas." The ghost-Lukas-said.

     "O-Oh. Nice to meet you... Lukas?" Emil stuck out a hand, hoping the ghost would understand what a handshake was. It seemed to hesitate for a second, but eventually took Emil's hand and shook it. Emil lowered his head. He was going to have a new friend in the house, who hopefully didn't mind his friends coming over.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

     Yay, guys! I just thought of a Ghost AU with NorIce for Hetaween/Halloween! I haven't been active for a while so I might as well post this X3


	2. A Mysterious Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lukas hasn't been visiting Emil much often as of late, but Emil is really curious and wants to see Lukas again.

     *EMIL'S POV*

     I hadn't seen Lukas since yesterday night. I thought he would come to visit me or something now that we've made contact, but since he literally disappeared into thin air last night, I haven't seen him. I was just sitting on the couch, watching Youtube while wondering that question when I saw a dim blue light reflecting off the couch's seats. I quickly turned, and there floated Lukas, the emotionless look on his face that I'd come to realize that I would see often. "Lukas!" I said in mild astonishment. I really hadn't been expecting him right then.

     "What? I was just checking up on what you were doing." Lukas said as he floated over to sit by me. I lowered my head so he couldn't see my face heat up.

     "O-Oh." Suddenly a burning question popped into my mind. "Hey, Lukas, is it possible for me to touch you?"

     The ghost seemed to think about it. "Usually not. Unless I will for humans to be able to make contact with me, then no. On occasion, when we feel like it, we're able to touch humans, but not the other way around." I stuck out a hand towards his face. Like I had anticipated, my fingers passed through him. Lukas shrugged and looked at my computer. "What are you watching?" I slammed my laptop lid shut. Truth be told, I was searching up results for "How To Get A Ghost To Like You". To no avail, there were no exact corresponding videos or websites. But ah, it was too late. Lukas has seen it. He raised an eyebrow and looked at me suspiciously.

     "I've never seen a ghost before!" I stuttered. "D-Don't take it the wrong way!"

     "When did I ever mention which way I was going to take that as?" Lukas inquired.  _Dammit._

     "I-I... N-Nothing! Never mind!" I tried to move away, but I could feel Lukas's cold fingers tugging on my arm and holding me back.

     "I need a proper explanation before you go, Emil." He said. There was no exact tone in his voice.

     I blushed as hard as one of the tomato slices on the Italian brothers' pizzas. "I-I just think you're cute, okay? Now let me go." I tried to pull away, but Lukas seemed like he wanted to know more and held me back as I tried to stand up again. I batted at his arms, but my hands just went right through-again. This was NOT fair. I could see a slight smile form on Lukas's lips as he watched me struggle to walk away. He was super adorable when he smiled. I wonder if ghosts could read minds.

     "Alright. Happy Halloween, human." Lukas suddenly leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek. Taken aback, I just sat there at a loss of words. "Not gonna respond, huh? When you come up with a better answer, you can see me in the basement." Then Lukas smirked and dissolved into the air. I blushed and sat there grinning like an idiot for a while until I stood up and began to walk downstairs.


	3. Ghastly Relationship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil finds himself in the basement of his home meeting up with a ghost who fortunately liked him back. Now what will he do?

     *LUKAS'S POV*

     Humans are strange. Back when I used to be one... Oh, well. It wasn't worth living. My parents had abandoned me and I ended up in an orphanage. I didn't like them anyways. They abused me. But the orphanage wasn't too good either, if anybody gets my point. So I ran away... But unfortunately I got run over by a literal train in the process. Just the wretched being I am, so that's why I considered myself pretty lucky to have met Emil. He seemed nice... For a human. The previous ones that lived here either got spooked by me or moved away, or just kept living here and wrecking all the fine furniture and eventually leaving. Not that I'd confronted any of them, because none of them tried to summon me, so I guess I'd blame it on myself. But that Emil guy-he didn't scream and run away. He actually apologized. I guess that counts as something.

      _I hear footsteps coming down the basement stairs._ I thought. Must be Emil. I didn't actually expect him to come down here, because I meant the kiss purely as a joke-It's possible for ghosts to have a sense of humor, isn't it? Might also be a little reward for him being so nice. But was that idiot really taking my request for real? I didn't know what to feel.  _The basement door is opening. Oh, that's him, alright._

     I sighed and appeared in a puff of light blue smoke. Emil blushed and looked down.

     "You didn't take that kiss seriously, did you?" I asked, trying to be as gentle as I could.

     "M-Maybe..." The silver-haired human admitted. I rolled my eyes. At least he had guts.

     Then he looked up. "I-I like you though! D-Don't make fun of me!"

      _Oh, that's funny. I almost smiled. He's kind of cute._ Emil pouted and his face flushed even redder. What was I going to do now?

     "Alright... Emil. So about your friends..." He looked at me like I was trying to change the topic. I was just really curious.

     "S-Stop trying to change the topic!" Emil yelled, suddenly angry.  _Yep, he took it seriously._ Next thing I knew, he walked up to me and pulled me into a kiss. I blinked, not being able to process what just happened.  _Dammit, I forgot to change it so that he can't touch me. Well, too late now. I'd just had to go with the flow._ Try as I might to break out of his grasp on my collar, he had me backed up against a wall. Idiot that I was, I stood in a corner spot. No point in trying to wiggle free now, so I just kissed back.

     After half a minute, Emil pulled back, blushing. He looked into my eyes. "You didn't resist." He said.

      _Stupid human._ "What else was I supposed to do?"

     "I dunno. That was your only option, wasn't it?" Emil said in a teasing tone. "I guess I could try that again~"

     Nobody had every spoke to me like that before. To every previous being I met, I was just this mysterious guy that didn't like to talk and would snap at anybody if they said the wrong thing. Emil seemed to be getting pretty comfortable around me. I just then realized that he still had me up against the wall. Curses. It wasn't possible to will a living being not to make contact with you when they already get a grasp on you. Too bad.

     "So what would you do if I asked you to kiss me again?" Emil said playfully, brushing away a lock of my hair that hung over my left eye. I tried to swat his hand away, but he held my arm down. Then without my permission, the dumb teen leaned up against me and kissed me again. I didn't know what I felt. Frustration? Disbelief? Mild acceptance, even? Just then I felt something nip at my bottom lip. I opened my eyes wide in surprise. Sure, I'd heard of how to kiss-but I'd never, ever done it before. Ah, what was the point of fighting back? I just sighed inside my head and let his tongue enter. This was all going a bit fast, but it didn't really matter.


	4. Paranormal Activity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Emil has successfully kissed Lukas, he deems them in an official relationship. He doesn't know what Lukas thinks of it, but he's pretty eager to bring his friends back over, if only to show them that Lukas is actually a very nice ghost.

     (Emil's POV)

     Yesterday was pretty damn amazing. I kissed a ghost. A very cute ghost. A very cute ghost who might possibly like me back. My heart fluttered around my ribs the whole day, and I was desperate to get my friends to come back to the house to see Lukas again. They didn't have to know that I'm dating Lukas or whatnot, but it'd be enough just to show them that they wouldn't have to be afraid of him.

     I had already called them early in the morning to arrange a meeting at my house, though most of them sounded pretty reluctant to come back again. and understandably as well, but since I'd assured them, I assume most of them will come back. And I was right. One by one, at around noon, they showed up. First Mathias, who hesitated to step through the door, then Berwald, who didn't really show much emotion and seemed to have calmed down, and finally Tino, who explained that he had originally planned on chickening out.

     "S'... 'mil. 'B't th's... gh'st 'f y'r's. Wh'r's h' r'g't n'w?" Berwald asked.

     "Probably watching us. He wanted to see you guys again since I informed him you all were my close friends." I said, feeling Lukas sink down into the seat next to me.

     "That's weird, dude!" Mathias yelped. Suddenly just then Lukas appeared in a cloud of blue smoke, and Tino screamed, but quieted down immediately.

     "I can leave if you all decide to break my eardrums." Lukas said in a pleasant tone. I elbowed him.

     "Oh, he's a sarcastic one!" Mathias whispered excitedly.

     "In case I forgot to mention-which I probably didn't-his name is Lukas." I introduced my friends in order to Lukas, who nodded.

     "Hey, Emil, dude, your ghost is pretty hot." Mathias teased. Lukas glared at him, the same look he'd given me earlier.

     I snorted. "Hot damn. And he's mine too." My friends' eyes widened in almost complete unison. Ah, burnt licorice. I'd said the wrong thing, didn't I?

     "Fine!" I decided to confess. "I-I kissed him! S-So I-I mean..."

     My voice trailed off as Lukas dissolved into the air behind me. He had gone invisible, but I could still feel the invisible grasps of his fingers on my shoulders. I gently reached up and pretended to scratch my neck just so I could hold Lukas's hands. Tino had this look of shock mixed with happiness on his face, and Berwald was just studying my sofa. I should've guessed. Mathias had literally jumped up in excitement.

     "You're dating a ghooooost, Emil! A ghoooost!" He taunted, hopping up and down.

     "A  _hot_ one." I quoted him, and that shut him up pretty darn quick.

     Lukas's finger booped my nose, and I quickly swatted it away. Mathias began to roar in laughter. "He's taunting you, Emil! Hahahahaha!"

     "Whatever!"  _Stupid Dane._  Tino clapped his hands.

     "I feel happy for you guys then-if you both like each other." Tino said happily. "I'll go make some brownies to celebrate!" Nobody tried to stop him as he walked towards the kitchen. Berwald snickered and followed after, likely to help, but more likely so he could get the first bite of fresh-baked brownies. Mathias just laid down on the couch and began to snooze as I walked up to the little library, followed by Lukas.

     I sat down on the little chair in the corner of the library as Lukas appeared.

     "The crazy-haired one is sure annoying." He commented, and I nodded and smiled, wrapping one hand around his waist to pull him closer.

     "I know, right? I knew you'd understand me." I pecked him lightly on the cheek, and he didn't complain.

     "I'm supposed to. Oh, and I might also want to mention that I can read your mind sometimes if I store up enough power. Which is at maximum once per day." He informed, gathering himself and plopping onto my lap. He weighed less than a feather, but you could feel he was there. He leaned down to kiss me lightly on the forehead. I giggled and felt him nuzzling into my hair. "You have beautiful hair, you know."

     "Aw, thanks~" I purred as he ruffled my white locks.

     Suddenly the door was flung open, and right on cue, Lukas disappeared.

     "Sitting by yourself, Emil? Don't you wanna come downstairs and help me bake?" Tino offered. I knew that if I stayed up here they were going to come back, so I nodded. Lukas followed after, leaving a bit of a chilly breeze as we walked downstairs. That was how I knew he'd always be there. I went up to Berwald and began to help beating the batter. Lukas took a bottle of whipping cream and I felt him float over the Mathias. A small pile of whipping cream appeared on Mathia's left open palm, and I saw a pencil float up and nudge Mathias on the nose. I smiled. This was going to be good.

    Mathias murmured something, and his hand flung up to smack the "bug" that had seemingly landed on his nose-and to no surprise, got a face full of whipping cream. Lukas floated back to us, and set the floating bottle of cream down on the counter. Berwald and Tino looked over at Mathias, who sat up in surprise and went to go check himself in the mirror, screeching as he did so. Everyone burst out laughing, even Berwald, which was very rare.

     I smiled broadly as I continued to stir the brownie batter. Lukas had some sense of humor in him. My opinion on ghosts was going to change entirely.


	5. Obscured Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween was approaching, and the spirits besides Lukas are becoming increasingly active. When Emil is given the chance to restore Lukas to life, he takes it. But it won't be easy. He'd also have to figure out how Lukas died without asking the ghost. But Emil is determined to succeed.

     "Say, Lukas, do ghosts get stronger around Halloween or something?" Emil laid back on the couch as Lukas leaned over him, poking his face every once in a while. It was annoying, but telling him to stop would ruin the mood. Emil decided to keep quiet. The previous day was great, with his friends' visit ending off with a brownie party. After they left, Lukas had reappeared, of course. But now that Halloween was drawing closer day by day, Emil had begun to sense ghastly energy radiating from Lukas.

     "Yes. That and the day we died." Lukas floated in to straddle Emil, continuously poking Emil's cheeks. He found it quite amusing.

     "Do you ever miss being human?" Emil reached up and gave Lukas's cheek a hard pinch, smirking as the ghost grimaced and drew his hands away from Emil. Lukas seemed to take the thought into mind and seemed to think about it for a while. Emil waited patiently on the couch, fiddling with his white ribbon bow as Lukas came up with an answer.

     "Sometimes." Lukas said at last, avoiding eye contact with the human.

     "Would you lose your powers if you became human again?" Emil asked curiously.

     "No. Once we die, we keep our abilities forever. But since the chance of becoming human again is so slim, most ghosts keep their powers and stay ghosts." Lukas said a matter-of-factly, tousling Emil's hair. "Why are you so filled with questions today, Emil?"

     "I'm just curious-hey, did you say that the chances of becoming human again are slim?" Emil questioned.

     "Yes. What are you thinking?" Lukas narrowed his eyes.

     "So now I know it's not impossible. How would a ghost become human again anyways? I kind of want to see you as a human. You'd look pretty cute, wouldn't you?" Emil teased, reaching up to latch himself around Lukas's neck. The blonde boy rolled his eyes and seemed to think about the question yet again, but didn't avoid eye contact this time. He sighed.

     "Either someone needs to die in the ghost's place, or their reason of death needs to be recovered by a stranger and written on their grave." Lukas said at last.

     "So that stranger can be... me! I mean, you didn't know me when you were alive." Emil pointed out excitedly.

     Lukas raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Let me guess. You want to revive me."

     "Y-Yeah! I mean, you'd get to keep your cool powers and stuff!" Emil cried.

     "It's not about that, Emil. It's more on the topic of what I'd do if I got revived. Not that I don't want to be with you, of course. You know that. But don't you think it'd be difficult to figure out what caused my death? It's a bit obscure if you don't have the right clues. And I'm not allowed to directly hint you." Lukas said, looking troubled. Emil whined and turned onto his side, making Lukas float off of him.

     "Lukas, I hate to disappoint you, but I am NOT helpless!" Emil growled. "I can find out on my own!"

     "When'd I ever say that?" Lukas asked innocently, twirling a strand of Emil's hand in his hands.

     "Alright. So where do I start?" Emil asked suddenly, standing up with his hands on his hips like a superhero about to take off.

     "You don't even know where to begin. Need I say more? You really want to revive me, don't you?" Lukas yawned boredly. Emil frowned at him.

     "This ain't a direct hint. First off, find out where I lived and what happened to me during my lifetime." Lukas pointed out, then dissolved into the air.

     Emil sighed. Lukas wasn't giving him any more clues, and it really was harder than he expected. Emil climbed over the other sofa and made his way upstairs. If Lukas was haunting this place, then he must've had a previous home in here. There was no telling if this was where he died, but it was true that he would've had some reason to haunt it. Was the house he lived in really where Lukas lived during his lifetime?

     There had to be some hidden room somewhere in the house if Lukas was hiding something then. And if Lukas led a good life, it wouldn't have made up for his emotionless personality. If he was abused, however-he would've hidden evidence somewhere. Even if the ghost didn't bother telling him then, it would've made sense for him to keep a diary of what happened to him hidden somewhere in the walls or floorboards. The only thing was, it could've been anywhere in the house.

     "Lukas!" Emil called. After a moment of cold air hovering around the silver-haired teen, Lukas appeared next to Emil.

     "You need help so soon? No dumb questions." The ghost commanded.

     "I know. Indirect question. Which room did you live in?" Emil asked.

     "You're a clever one. I didn't live in any of the bedrooms, in case you were wondering. I lived in the attic." Lukas said as Emil stomped up the stairs to the attic.

     "But the attic is tiny, Lukas." Emil pointed out as he flicked up the lights switch.

     "That should tell you something." Lukas put his arms around Emil's waist and floated along as the human explored around the attic. Emil lifted up an object here and there, and set a book aside on the ground to move a desk. Something under his foot creaked, and a piece of floorboard dislodged from its original space. Emil immediately bent down to inspect the piece of broken floorboard, putting both hands around the wood to pull back.

     "This house is old! The wood slips so easily." Emil exclaimed as the piece of wood came loose with a loud pop.

     "Either that or you're really fat." Lukas joked as Emil turned and glared at him. Lukas took that as an opportunity to peck Emil on the lips quickly.

     The teenage boy blushed and pulled out a little slip of paper from under the board. The paper had yellowed in just the tiniest bit, possibly from being under the wooden floor for a few years. There were faded-out pencil marks on it, and in a neat manner-but clearly scribbled cursive, someone-Lukas-had written "I'm leaving". Emil turned to face Lukas, who shrugged and gave him the expression that said  _figure it out yourself._ And just then Emil knew that there was going to be a long mystery ahead of him.


	6. Otherworldly Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil decides that there's no other way to restore Lukas properly than to replay the events that led to his death. But that's not possible, is it? Apparently it is-but to do that, Lukas requires Emil to enter the realm of ghosts, as a human, and find his way to the fountain of memories. As much as Emil doesn't want to accept, it's what he has to do.

     "Lukas, the only clue here is that you ran away! There's nothing else!" Emil exclaimed in frustration as he fell back onto his sofa and let out a big yawn. Lukas shrugged and floated behind him. It was one in the morning, and Emil hadn't slept. He couldn't, knowing that he could be reviving Lukas instead of sleeping. It was Halloween, and Lukas seemed more active and happy than normal, even though he didn't show it.

     "I told you it would be difficult. You insisted that you could do it." Lukas said flatly, flying up to sit on the back of the sofa.

     "Well, I don't know how your death happened. There's no more clues in this house, and I've been searching for four hours." Emil retorted, flopping over.

     "So you want to replay the scene of my death." Lukas said. Seeing as he was pretty comfortable speaking with it, Emil decided to stay on the topic.

     "You say that like it's possible." Emil noted, sitting up as Lukas nodded and sighed. Emil raised an eyebrow.

     "Okay. I guess I owe you an explanation, since this doesn't relate directly to helping you solve it. Anyways, there's this thing called the Realm Of Ghosts. It's like another dimension, just filled with ghosts and only ghosts. When somebody dies, they get a choice-to become a ghost and haunt the Earth for a while, and clear up some unfinished business. Or they can choose to go directly to the Realm, which is like the regular world, except the inhabitants are ghosts. We can move freely between Earth and the Realm, but we're strongest on our death days and Halloween. Those are the days in which we are free to interact with any real-life objects. We can even remove ghost-repelling charms." Lukas paused and looked at Emil. "You keeping up?"

     Emil nodded , leaning forward eagerly, clearly interested in what Lukas had to say.

     "There is a magical fountain in the center of the Realm. Its name is the Fountain Of Memories. And just like its name says, it revives memories-any memories, as long as a ghost remembers it. On Halloween, all ghosts can use it to replay the scene of their deaths for whatever reasons. And then they get revived. That's why you humans relate Halloween to spirits so much. Not only because you see more spirits active when Halloween nears." Lukas finished. Emil's eyes widened.

     "Really? You're not joking?" Emil demanded, still a bit suspicious.

     "Why would I lie about something like this?" Lukas snorted, looking offended.

     "Oh... Sorry I questioned you, then. How do I get to the Realm Of Ghosts?" Emil asked excitedly.

     Lukas looked at Emil, then smirked. "You? A human? Well, I suppose I can't turn you into a ghost. You'll have to access the Realm as a human then. I can take you back and forth to the Realm easily, but there's no guarantee that we'll reach the fountain soon. For when we travel to the Realm, we spawn randomly within a fifty-mile radius of the fountain. Prepare yourself. We leave now."

     Then he whisked Emil up in his arms and disappeared in a flash of blue light, and the human was gone as well.

     ◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

     "We're here, Emil." Emil looked up at the sound of Lukas's voice. He was still in Lukas's arms, being cradled. His face flushed and he jumped off immediately.

     Lukas smirked. "Why so sensitive?" Emil blushed and didn't respond.

     "I know we're in the Realm. But I need you to specify where we are." Emil said after a moment of staring at the ghost.

     Lukas looked around. "Ah, I'd say we're in Spirits Plaza. That's about only ten miles away from the fountain. We got lucky, Emil." Lukas said at last. Then his expression turned back to serious again. "You're a human, Emil. We're also very lucky that we came this early in the morning-the spirits have gone back to their dens and homes to rest and store up energy for returning to the world of the living when the day begins. The fountain should be empty at this time. We have to hurry."

     The sky was dark and there were nobody-or spirits-around. "So which direction is it? Do we have to walk-or float-the ten miles?" Emil asked.

     "This is where I come in. I know a private secret spirits bus service run by one of my friends, Gilbert (See what I did there... Haha... Okay, it's not funny...), and let's hope he accepts you on the bus. If he doesn't... Well, then we'll have to walk. He stops by at the Starbucks Cafe over at the Spirits Plaza corner every two in the morning blasting loud music, so he'd be kind of hard to miss. Besides that he's loud and annoying, he's a pretty reliable ghost for the most part. Two in the morning is fifteen minutes away. Let's head there." Lukas said, and took Emil's hand. As the two strolled in the direction Lukas was leading Emil in, Emil began to look around the dim stores and houses.

     It really was just like the land of the living-or so that was what Lukas called it. Except its inhabitants were ghosts, like Lukas also said. As faint "Me Too" music began to blast in the distance, Emil smiled slightly and followed Lukas to wherever they were headed.


	7. Bumpy Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luckily, Gilbert is annoying-but more helpful than Lukas had made him out to be. As Lukas and Emil travel to the fountain, Emil begins to pick up more pieces and evidence of Lukas's obscure death.

     (Lukas's POV)

     As we stood on the sidewalk next to the Starbucks Coffee, a NY transit bus pulled up to the curb. The "Me Too" music was so loud that it was hurting my ears. I wanted to shout at Gilbert to stop the music, but I didn't want to make Emil deaf with my loud yelling, so I just silently stood there trying not to explode. The double doors slide open, and Gilbert turned to face me. He grinned and opened his mouth, then saw the human standing next to me.

     "Lukas, say, that doesn't look like a ghost. Dude, are you new around here?" Gilbert exclaimed, belting out questions at me and Emil.

     "No, Gilbert. Don't mind him. He's an extra passenger and a friend of mine." I said, and led Emil on board the bus. Gilbert sighed and turned down the volume of the radio.

     "You don't have to lie, Lukas. He's a human, isn't he?" Gilbert asked.  _Crap. He figured it out. Maybe he wasn't as dumb as I thought._

     I sat down in the seat across from Gilbert's driver seat, and Emil quickly scooted in next to me. "Fine. He is. What're you gonna do?"

     "Nothing." I looked up, surprised. Gilbert didn't have the reaction I'd prepared myself for. "Look, Lukas, I'm confused and all, but I ain't gonna go attack the human for nothing. First of all, it wouldn't benefit me. Second of all, he seems friendly enough-and finally, you stated that he was your friend. I know you're gonna try to defend him since you're on his side, so I ain't messing with him, dude. I don't want to fight you."

     "Ok then. He's coming with us. Stop at the Fountain Of Memories." I said, and Gilbert nodded, pushing the lever next to his seat so that the doors slid closed again and the music was cranked back to max as the bus screeched away from the plaza. Now as a ghost, I didn't have to sleep. But since it was one in the morning and Emil was beginning to doze off right next to me and leaned onto my shoulder, in the loud music (don't ask me how; I don't know how he did it), I was beginning to want some sleep myself.

     It wouldn't affect anything, of course, but perhaps it could help me focus better. As I wrapped my arms around Emil and nuzzled into his hair, I began to feeling a little bit drowsy. And that soon increased into sleepiness. I knew it wouldn't be that much of a long ride, but somehow among the music and the bumps, I managed to fall asleep.

     (Emil's POV)

     I dreamt of the fountain. The fountain of memories or something that Lukas was talking about. Perhaps the closer we get to the fountain, the more its power increases. Despite that I was dreaming, I felt as if I was in a semi-conscious state. I was alone, myself, in a dark void. I turned at the sound of Lukas's voice, screaming. Behind me was a little boy who had a striking resemblance to Lukas.

     A man was screaming at him, his face flushed with rage. Words that I couldn't remember nor hear well spilled out of his mouth. A woman behind him was holding a wooden stool, with it raised above her head as if she was about to hit Lukas. Lukas was backed up against a bookshelf, crying and sobbing and cowering in fear. He looked to be no more than eight or nine. The woman stepped forward, and began to yell at Lukas, who uttered something through his choked and muffled crying.

     After Lukas closed his mouth, the woman let out a great wail of anger and drew the stool back. I closed my eyes as the sound of wood whizzing through the air reached my ears. Then I knew what I was seeing. Lukas's past. His past as a child. Then there was a piercing shriek and something slumped to the ground. I turned and ran-and then a loud voice woke me up.

     (Lukas's POV)

     "HEY-DUDE! WAKE UP!" A voice hollered in my ear. I blinked sleepily and looked up slowly. There stood Gilbert, smiling.

     "Gilbert? Are we here?" I murmured, waking up quickly. Emil seemed to have a harder time getting up, and I shook him gently.

     "Yeah! Also-Are you sure you guys are just 'friends'? Because the way you two were sleeping indicates something else~" Gilbert mocked, and pulled the lever. The twin doors on the bus slid open again, and cold air blasted into the bus. Emil sat up instantly and looked around, alarmed. Once he realized that we were still on the bus and that he was in my arms, he relaxed and once he heard what Gilbert said, he buried his face into my neck, embarrassed. So damn cute.

     "Ugh. Maybe. Anyways, did you drop us off right next to the fountain or something?" It was too dark outside to see the fountain-or anything, for that matter.

     "Yeah, bro. The fountain is just around that corner. We should be at the edge of Wishville." Gilbert clucked his tongue and herded me and Emil off the bus.

     I waved goodbye and nodded a "Thank you". Gilbert got back into the driver's seat and drove off into the distance. Once the bus was no longer visible, I looked at Emil. "That was quick, Lukas." He said, and we both checked our surroundings. We were at a street corner, and behind us was a Bed&Breakfast, probably for the ghastly tourists that came to visit the Fountain Of Memories.

     "We got lucky. Let's head to the fountain." I said quickly, and took Emil by the arm. We scurried behind the row of buildings under the cover of night, and I could see a fountain, the liquid inside it glowing a faint mint.

     "Pretty." Emil cooed, and I nodded.

     "Brace yourself for the vision, Emil." I said softly. "This is the Fountain Of Memories, and I suppose it'll work." I raised my right hand and waved it in a circular pattern in the air. I concentrated my energy on it, and I could hear the waters in the fountain began to froth and foam. A line of water rose from the fountain, then exploded in the air. Emil ooed and aahed in amusement, as the vision began to play.     


	8. Wish In The Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter, Emil saw Lukas's backstory, and decides to revive him. Now they are at the fountain. The scene of Lukas's death is replayed, and Emil learns much more than he had wanted to.

     (Emil's POV)

     Sure, I was excited when the vision first began to display itself. But now I wasn't so sure that I wanted to watch it through. The beginning was already heartbreaking enough. Lukas floated behind me silently as a glowing blue mist rose and formed itself into shapes in the air, swirling around to create animations. I watched as a young Lukas, his clothes tattered and torn, fled towards seemingly nowhere, mean and angry voices calling after him as he ran and ran. It was seemingly the afternoon, and the sun was high in the sky.

     Nobody else was around. The roads were clear of cars; free of any vehicles or living things. I could see tears on his cheeks and still streaking down his face as he stopped momentarily to wipe them, and then kept running. He ran across several streets, and finally he approached a railroad crossing. I had a sinking feeling in my gut as he stepped onto the tracks, his eyes blurry with tears as he just  _stood_ there for around a minute. The lights on the traffic lights turned red, and I gulped. Lukas made no noise behind me as he floated there, but reached out a hand to put on my shoulder.

     A tremendous, unmistakable honking noise of a train horn shattered the quietness of the seemingly desolate railroad crossing. In the distance, another horn blared and two glowing lights appeared, then got closer and closer. The ground shook, but the child Lukas didn't move. He stood in the middle of the railroad tracks and closed his eyes. I knew what was about to happen. I heard the train thunder closer, the sound of its engines roaring. I squeezed my eyes shut as Lukas silently floated up to me and put his arms around me. I heard chilling screams as the scene seemingly unfolded before my very eyes, even though I had closed them.

     The noise of the train chugging got smaller, and smaller. Then there was silence. Deafening silence. I was afraid to open my eyes, but Lukas gently tapped me on the shoulder, signaling the vision had faded into thin air, as mysteriously as it had appeared. I swallowed and opened my eyes. It was gone. Only the slightly rippling water of the fountain gave away what was left of the vision. Lukas turned to look at me.

     "Well?" He said softly, gesturing to the fountain. I smiled and nodded, then lightly touched the surface of the water.

     Lukas began to glow, and I stepped back and stared in wonder and amazement as the waters in the fountain swirled more violently now. There was a sudden, blinding flash of light, and then Lukas reappeared. Except he wasn't floating. Except he wasn't transparent. Except he was  _human_. He smiled ever so lightly, and I couldn't bring myself to say a word. I rushed forward and threw my arms around him. He hugged back.

     He wasn't cold anymore-but not necessarily warm either. "I-I can't believe it, Lukas..." I whispered as I buried my head in his neck.

     "Aren't you happy, Emil?" He teased as he stroked my hair lovingly.

     "What do you mean? Of course I am!" I cried out, and hugged him even tighter.

     "It's time to get back, isn't it? We can see your friends' reactions then." Lukas said teasingly again. I nodded gently, and he closed his eyes. A white mist appeared around us, and lifted us up. In the flash of an eye, we were gone.

     (Lukas's POV)

     We had landed in Emil's room. I hadn't been human in such a long time that I forgot what it was like. I wasn't used to the vibrant colors that suddenly appeared on me, nor was I prepared to make contact with any random object without myself willing to. But I was human now, and I was with Emil. That was really all that mattered for now, and I wouldn't give anything to go back. After all, as a human, I still had magic, which means I could still scare people.

     Apparently back in the human world, it was already morning. The clock on the wall read 7:53 AM. Emil had somehow fallen asleep. Well, he didn't get much sleep for the whole night anyways. I sighed and gently laid him on the bed and resisted the urge to poke his cheek for fear of waking him up. He was so cute when he was sleeping. 

     It was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Hetaween's pretty close, isn't it? I decided to post some stories on here as well as draw posts for Hetalia Amino!


End file.
